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SVNKit Architecture

SVNKit is a pure (100%) Java client library for working with data versioned by the Subversion version control system right within Java applications. The library structure can be represented as following:

attachment:svnkit_architecture.png

That is there are two main layers in SVNKit:

• A high-level layer to manage Working Copies. A [http://svnkit.com/kb/javadoc/org/tmatesoft/svn/core/wc/package-summary.html corresponding API] gives you an ability to manage Working Copies just like in the manner that the [http://svnbook.red-bean.com/nightly/en/svn.ref.html#svn.ref.svn Subversion command line client] does.

• A low-level layer is similar to the [http://svnbook.red-bean.com/nightly/en/svn.developer.html#svn.developer.layerlib.ra Subversion Repository Access Layer]. It represents a driver for direct working with a Subversion Repository.

High-level layer

The high-level API is similar to the commands of the Subversion native command line client: all operations for managing Working Copies are logically divided and combined in different SVN*Client classes. For example, all WC update operations (check out, update, switch, etc.) are performed by the single [http://svnkit.com/kb/javadoc/org/tmatesoft/svn/core/wc/SVNUpdateClient.html SVNUpdateClient] class. Arguments which are accepted by methods of these classes are similar to arguments of the Subversion command line client. When an access to a repository is indeed required, the high-level layer uses the low-level one.

Low-level layer

[http://svnkit.com/kb/javadoc/org/tmatesoft/svn/core/io/package-summary.html This layer] represents an abstract Subversion repository access protocol layer. There're two important things about this layer:

• It does not deal with WCs at all, since WC is a higher layer than this one. This layer knows how to speak to Subversion repositories via different protocols (in fact, this layer implements such protocols).

• Data structure is handled by this layer as an abstract data hierarchy, what gives an ability to represent more sophisticated (than just files and directories) abstractions as a tree-like hierarchy and keep such a hierarchy under version control.

Repository access protocols supported by SVNKit

Since v.1.1.0 SVNKit supports the following repository access schemes:

attachment:access_protocols.png

Remote access

As you can see on the diagram above, SVNKit supports two kinds of accessing a Subversion repository over network:

• svn://, this also includes svn+xxx:// schemes (and svn+ssh:// in particular)

• http://, this also includes secure https:// connections

Local access

Also since v.1.1.0 SVNKit is able to work with a Subversion repository on a local machine (via file:///). Although there is one limitation: SVNKit can work only with [http://svnbook.red-bean.com/nightly/en/svn.reposadmin.html#svn.reposadmin.basics.backends.fsfs FSFS]-type repositories over the file:/// protocol.